Job 30:20

20 "I call to you for help, but you don't answer me. I stand up, but you just look at me.

Job 30:20 Meaning and Commentary

Job 30:20

I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me
Which added greatly to his affliction, that though he cried to the Lord for help and deliverance, yet he turned a deaf ear to him; and though he heard him, as undoubtedly he did, he did not answer him immediately; at least not in the way in which he desired and expected he would: crying is expressive of prayer, and supposes distress, and denotes vehemence of spirit:

I stand up;
in prayer, standing being a prayer gesture, as many observe from ( Jeremiah 15:1 ) ; (See Gill on Matthew 6:5); or he persisted in it, he continued praying, was incessant in it, and yet could obtain no answer; or this signifies silence, as some F6 interpret it; he cried, and then ceased, waiting for an answer; but whether he prayed, or whether he was silent, it was the same thing:

and thou regardest me [not];
the word "not" is not in this clause, but is repeated from the preceding, as it is by Ben Gersom and others; but some read it without it, and give the sense either thus, thou considerest me whether it is fit to receive my prayer or not, so Sephorno; or to renew my strokes, to add new afflictions to me, as Jarchi and Bar Tzemach; or thou lookest upon me as one pleased with the sight of me in such a miserable condition, so far from helping me; wherefore it follows.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Jarchi, Ben Gersom, and Bar Tzemach.

Job 30:20 In-Context

18 With great strength he grabs my clothes. He seizes me by the collar of my robe.
19 He throws me into the dirt so that I become like dust and ashes.
20 "I call to you for help, but you don't answer me. I stand up, but you just look at me.
21 You have begun to treat me cruelly. With your mighty hand you assault me.
22 You pick me up and let the wind carry me away. You toss me around with a storm.
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